Genesis 1, in its literal sense, tells the story of creation.

This is an ancient, ancient story of humankind. It was written down by Moses some 3300 years ago, but it’s far older than that. It was part of the “Oral Torah”, an oral tradition among Abraham and his descendants, and it’s a remnant from the Ancient Word, which dated back perhaps 5000 years in written form, and, again, far earlier in stories told around the campfires of countless peoples.

It’s not just ancient; it’s scientific! The sun and moon are out of sequence, but on the whole, it’s a pretty sound telescoping of what we know from astrophysics and geology and archeology.

And... here’s the main thing: It’s sacred. In its literal sense, it’s the story of God creating a world that can support life, and then living souls, and then human beings who can receive His love, and return it freely.

It is also a story that’s incredibly rich in symbolic meaning. At a deep level, it's telling us how people are born into a life focused on the world and its material distractions, but in time can be transformed by God into spiritual people. Each day described in the chapter refers to a new stage in the regeneration or rebirth of a human being, until we finally become heavenly in nature.

Here’s a brief chapter outline (and see Arcana Coelestia 6 for further reference!):

• (Genesis 1:1-2) God creates the heavens and the earth. All is formless, and empty, and dark, but the spirit of God is brooding over the waters. This refers to a stage of life when we're still living in spiritual darkness. We haven't yet started to turn towards God. (See Arcana Coelestia 7)
• (3-5) God creates light, on the first day. Here, we're at the stage where we understand that God really exists, and the light he's giving us represents our dawning understanding.
• (6-8) God creates an expanse in the midst of the waters, and calls it the Heavens, on the second day. This represents some knowledges about truth that God is beginning to establish in our minds. (See Arcana Coelestia 8)
• (9-13) On the third day, God separates the land and the seas, and causes herbs and fruit trees to grow. This represents a spiritual stage when the truths we know and the good loves we're cultivating are beginning to bear fruit. (See Arcana Coelestia 9)
• (14-19) On the fourth day, God creates the sun and the moon, to rule the day and the night. The sun represents love, and the moon represents faith. The light of truth and the warmth of good loves are beginning to rule our lives. When evening comes, we have periods of doubt, and need to rely on our faith to pull us through. (See Arcana Coelestia 10)
• (20-23) On the fifth day, God creates fishes and whales and birds – “every living soul” – and they are told to be be fruitful and multiply. Now, we're bringing forth deeper, better understandings of truth and good, and living and speaking from conviction. (See Arcana Coelestia 11)
• (24-31) On the sixth day, God makes land animals, and then, in verse 26, he makes man, in His own image, male and female. He blesses them, and tells them, too, to be fruitful and multiply, and gives them dominion over the plants and animals. This day represents a state where we're reaching our human potentiality -- being spiritual people. The animals represent our affections for spiritual truth and good. We are beginning to be an image of God, when we're reflecting the good that flows into us from God. (See Arcana Coelestia 12)

As the chapter ends, God rests from His work. This describes a heavenly state of being, in which we have learned to love what's good and true, and we have learned how to live by these loves.

Not all people reach the seventh day in their spiritual development. Most people stay at the first state; some make it to the second; a few others the third, fourth and fifth; and very few the sixth. People today, as throughout history, are over-focused on their sensory knowledge and the pursuit of worldly aims including money, status, power, and comfort. But... God is brooding over the waters; he's waiting for us to say, "OK, let's get started on living a better life."

In the pages and verses that follow, you’ll gain a greater insight into the life we are actually meant to live.

Key spiritual lessons from this chapter: The Lord is always calling us, inviting us to walk the path that leads to a close relationship with Him. He gives us life, and then leads us through the steps of regeneration. It is up to us to listen, to follow His truths, and to turn our life over to Him. As we learn and grow, He will transform us into a spiritual person in His image and likeness.

803. 'Birds, beasts, wild animals, and every creeping thing that creeps over the earth' means their persuasions, among which 'birds' means affections for falsity, 'beasts' evil desires, wild animals' pleasures, 'creeping thing that creeps' bodily and earthly interests. This becomes clear from what has been shown already about the meaning of birds and beasts - about birds in 40, and above at verses 14-15, of this chapter, and about beasts as well in those same verses, and also in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246. Since birds mean intellectual concepts, rational concepts, and factual knowledge, they also mean things that are the contrary, such as perverted rational concepts, falsities, and affections for falsity. The persuasions of the people before the Flood are described fully here, that is to say, they had within them affections for falsity, evil desires, pleasures, and bodily and earthly interests. All of these things are present in persuasions, though a person is not directly conscious of this, for he imagines that a false assumption, or persuasion of falsity, is some uncomplicated or quite general entity. He is much mistaken however, for the situation is altogether different. Every one of a person's affections derives its existence and character from the things of his understanding and at the same time from those of his will. As a result the whole person as regards all things of his understanding and all those of his will is present in every one of his affections, indeed in the most individual or least parts of them.

[2] This has been made quite clear to me from many experiences. For example, to mention but one, a spirit in the next life is able to recognize a person's character from merely one idea in that person's thinking. Indeed angels have the ability from the Lord to know anyone's character in an instant by merely looking at him; and they never make a mistake. From this it is clear that every one of a person's ideas, every affection, indeed every least part of his affection, is an image and replica of himself. That is, it contains something, closely or remotely, of the whole of his understanding and of the whole of his will. This then is how the dreadful persuasions of the people before the Flood are described: They had within them affections for falsity, also affections for evil (which are evil desires), as well as pleasures, and last of all bodily and earthly interests. All of these are present within such persuasions; and not only within persuasions in general but also within the most individual or least parts of persuasions, in which bodily and earthly interests are predominant. If anyone knew how much one false assumption or one persuasion of falsity contained he would be horrified. It is in a way an image of hell. But if they are the product of innocence or of ignorance, those falsities in him are easily dispersed.